Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on the Environment Improvement Plan’s objective to secure £500 million of private finance for nature restoration by 2027.

The Government has set a target to mobilise over £500m per year of private finance into nature’s recovery in England by 2027, rising to over £1 billion by 2030. We are making progress towards the target by supporting the development and integrity of nature markets through the British Standards Institution Nature Investment Standards Programme; delivering Biodiversity Net Gain; committing £30 million of investment into a blended finance Big Nature Impact Fund; helping farmers with advice and support on accessing nature markets; and increasing the supply of nature investment projects through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.

We recently published an update on progress on our Nature Markets Framework, and we will consult on further policy interventions needed to support the growth of high integrity voluntary carbon and nature markets in the coming months.